Photoelectric devices for switching the dazzling headlights of motor-vehicles



Jan. 19, 1960 A. Lo cELso ETAL 2,922,077

PHoToELscTRIc nEvIcx-:s FOR swITcHING THE DAZZLING HEADLIGHTS OF' MOTOR-VEHICLES Filed Dec. 7`, 1956 'lllzrllllllllfim lNi/ENTORWy ANTONIO Lo cELso a. BYGiuseppe Rlzzo WMMJLUM' United States "Patent O PHOTQELECTRIC DEVICES `lr'oR SWITCHING THE DAZZLING. HEADLIGHTS oF Moron-VEHICLES The present invention relates to an improvement in photoelectric devices for switching the high beam headlights of motor vehicles.

Devices of this type have been developed which comprise in combination, a control unit including a photoelectric cell responsive to the high beam, a relay system energized by the signal produced by the photoelectric cell, and means controlled by said relay system causing the vehicle headlights to be yswitched from the high beam condition to the low beam condition, and simultaneously the operation of a blinking device, if said photoelectric cell is still hit by the high beam. The headlights are then left'in their low beam condition throughout all of the period when no disturbing action occurs by the other vehicle. i

One object of this invention is that of improving the operative conditions of these devices, by remarkably increasing the sensitivity of the control unit by a novel type of photoelectronic relay responsive to the signal produced by the photoelectric cell, said relay controlling the actual switching system.

Another purpose of this invention is that of so embodying the photoelectric cell that, when the two crossing vehicles are slightly spaced apart, it is not hit by the low beam coming from the crossing vehicle, so as to prevent the headlights from being switched again to their high beam condition before the actual crossing has occurred. At the moment of said crossing, however, the cell receives a flash from the low beam headlights of the crossing vehicle, sufficient to actuate the unit and to again switch the headlights to their high beam condition.

These and other objects of this invention will be evident from the following specification taken in con? nection with the attached drawings, in which:

Fig. l shows an electrical diagram of the device; v Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the photoelectric cell, taken along a horizontal plane passing through the axis lof said cell. With reference to the drawing, the signal produced by the photoelectric cell 1 is amplified in a first transistor 2 and in a second transistor 3. The photo-electric micro-relay 7 is inserted as an indicator of phase displacement in a Wheatstone bridge. The Wheatstone bridge is formed of the resistors 4, 5 and 6, and the .transistor 3 which represents the variable resistance of they bridge. Transistors 2 and 3 may be OC 71 transistors and resistors 4 and 5 may be 1500 ohm resistors. The

rrmicro-relay 7 may be a 30 microampere ammeter. Re-

sisto'rs 4 and 5 are fixed and the bridge is balanced by fmeans of the adjustable resistor 6, e.g. of the value of 50,000.0hms, so as to zero set the micro-relay 7, while the photo-electric cell is kept completely covered. When photoelectric cell 1 receives a light ray it generates a `current which is sent to the transistor 2 to which the photoelectric cell is connected. The transistor 2 ampliiies the curent and applies it to the transistor 3 thus rproducing a variation in the impulse thereof with an ensuing phase difference in the bridge which displaces the pointer 8 of the micro-relay 7. Said photoelectronic micro-relay is comprised of an ammeter the pointer 8 of which is provided with a disc shaped end portion 9 suciently large to shut out the light beam delivered by a lamp 10 and extending 'towards the transistor 11. The lamp 10 may be a l2 volt lamp, and transistor 11 is an OC 71 transistor. The latter is so arranged that the light beam coming from the lamp 10 may hit, through the transparent covering wherefrom the protective varnish has been removed, the germanium surface. Thus, as soon as the pointer 8 of the micro-ammeter is moved, the transistor 11, hit by the light beam coming from the lamp 10, modifies its inner resistance and allows an amount of eurent to pass, suicient to energize the relay 12 in series with the transistor.- Relay 12 may be a 5000 ohm relay with l milliampere absorption. When the contact 13 of this relay is closed, it energizes a second relay 14, which may have 800 ohms resistance, provided with a double set ofcontacts 15 and 16. The contact 15 actuates-a snap relay 17 which controls the position of the contact 18 for the energization of the low beam filaments 9, and the contact 20 for the energization of the high beam filaments 21.

The contact 16 completes the circuit for a blinking device 22 which may, e.g., be a 50 watt blinking device. Independently from the action of the control unit formed by the photoelectric cell 1 and the micro-relay 7, the switching system for the headlights may be actuated by the push button 23. 24 denotes the power source which may be the conventional 6, 12 or 24 volt battery of the vehicle, the resistance 36 being 6000 ohms for a l2 volt battery; 25 denotes a switch which may be the one usually present on the instrument board of the car. This is a threeway switch which when it is on 26 energizes the parking lights, on 27 the low beam headlights and on 28 the high beam headlights, respectively.

Due to use of the photoelectronic micro-relay according to this invention, the sensitivity of the device is such as to ensureits operation at a distance of 600-700 meters, assuming the crossing vehicle is`provided with conventional headlights.

The variable resistor 6 allows the micro-ammeterV to be brought to zero in the simplest way, it being suicient for this purpose to keep the photoelectric cell 1 in complete darkness. i

The operation of the device is as follows. Assuming the power source 24 is connected to the circuit (and in the example depicted in the drawing this is obtained by moving the switch 25 onto the contact 28), if no light beam strikes the photoelectric cell 1, and if the snap relay 17 is on the contact 20, a circuit is completed from the positive side of the battery, through the contact 25, the contact 28, the contact 20 and the high beam laments 21 which are thus energized. The relay 12 is de-energized, and also de-energized is the relay 14, so that the blinking device is inoperative.

In order to change to the low-beam headlights, the switch 25 is 'moved to the contact 27.

Assuming amotor car has the high beam headlights on, and therefore the switch 25 is on the contact 28, as soon as the photoelectric cell 1 is hit by alight beam having a suilicient intensity (which occurs, as aforesaid, when a crossing vehicle is 600-700 m. away), the micro-relay 7 operates as described, the relay 12 is energized and a circuit is completed through the relay 14. As aforesaid, this energizes the relay 17 causing the headlights to be simultaneously changed from their high beam condition to their low beam condition, and contemporaneously a circuit is completed through the blinking device 22 so that the headlights of the crossing vehicle will observe a blinking light beam, until the photoelectric cell receives no light or a less intense light, Le,

untilfthe crossing vehicle, either automatically or voluntarily, has changed to its Alow beam headlights.

'Phe photoelectric cell Yis so constructed that at the moment of the actualcrossing, said cell receives the `light of `:the low beam headlights of lthe other vehicle;

this-is vsutlieient to start operating the device,yso as to obtain the Asnap `change @of the relay A17 to the contact 20 andthe high beam vheadlights to be again energized. In 4this case'the blinking device does not start operating.

' Y If the driver lof `the crossing vehicle arbitrarily changes 'overrto Vits high beam `his dazzling headlights, his action causes asequ'ence of ilashes from the high bearnflights to :be-delivered from" the vehicle, so thaty he is compelled to Ythe yswitch 25 so as to leave the automatic device on Due to thelparticular embodiment of the device according tothis invention, said device is Very easily mounted on a motor car; in fact, it will be sufficient to connect rthe low beam iilaments to the contact l-S of the relay 17 'and to insert the device between the contact 28 and the Vhigh beam filaments. This is accomplished by cutting the existing connection between the contact 28 and the filaments 21 and connecting the contact 28 to the posintive 'line of the device according to this invention, and thel 'filaments '21 to the contact 2t) ofthe relay 17. Thenegative line of thedevice" will be connected to the negative side of the battery.

As shownin Figure 2, thel sensitive portion 29 of the photoelectric cell 'll is mounted in an opaque casing 30 -provided with a front aperture 31 having an edge forming the'stop member for said sensitive portion 29; a ringvshaped metallic insert 32 forms the. negative terminal of the cell.` The housing 30 isclosed byra disc made of source, a photoelectric ycell positioned to receive light lcoming'from an oncoming automotive vehicle moving in the opposite direction with respect Kto the automotive plastic material and the piece Z9Y is urged against the j,

edge'by a vspring 33 which also forms the positive pole ofV theV cell. In front lof the aperture 311 are arranged the Lvanes '34, at right angles to the plane of the cell,

Vvertically positioned with respect to the ground, and

the length of'whieh decreases from Vthe left hand side to the right hand side as seen in FigureZ. Said vanes do fr rot prevent longitudinal rays r from striking the cell eX- ceptthat .in the portion outside the vane 34 at the leftmost side ofthe unit, where a vane 35, inclined through about 40 wtih respect'to the vane 34, leaves a passage only for the luminousrays r1 coming from the left at a great inclination, said rays being the lateral rays de# ljivered by the ,lower beam of the crossing automobile.

These rays cause the device to operate to restore the high beamy headlights. Obviously the width of the space'between the VaneSS Vand ,the edge'l defines the mutual positions .of the two cars when the high beam condition of the headlights is restored. This mutual positioning maybe adjusted by the adjustment of both the extent and the inclinationof Vthe vane 35. Obviously, should theautomobiles cross vwith their right hand sides toward each other, the arrangement of the vanes 54 and of the vane 3 5'wouldhave to be reversed.

The unitY may be mounted in front of the rear-vision mirror, which is usually fastened at the center of lthe upper cross-member of the windshield, thus presenting no obstacle to visibility from inside the car.

We claim: l

l. A photoelectric device to berrnounted on an automotive vehicle for switching from the high beam head `lights'tlrereof to the low beam headlights, which comprises in combination in an electric circuit a power vehicle on which the device is mounted for transmitting an impulse when biased by said light, a first transistor Connectedv to said photoelectric cell for receiving and amplifying saidimpulse, -thepositive pole of the cell being connected to the base of the saidvfirst transistor and the negative -pole of the cell to the emi-titer of A'the said Yfirst transistor, a Wheatstone bridge in the said circuit havinga second transistor, two Xed resistors and oneV adjustable Vresistor therein, said two .fixed resistors being inserted in series between the negativeA pole of the power source and the emitter of the said second transistor, said adjustable resistor being connectedat one end to the negative pole ofthepowe'rlsource and' at the other end to the collector of the said second transistor, said Y lsecond transistor having the base conneetedto the emitter of the `said'first transistor vand having the collector. connected to one end of a'current sensing means, the other end of the current sensing means being connected between said fixed resistors of the vWheatst'one bridge,` said second transistor being for'receiving and further amplifying said impulse emittedby saidphotoelec'tric cell, said second Vtransistor constitutingfavariable resistance in said bridge,

a photoelectric micro-relay inserted in thefsaid bridge and comprisingV a `photo-'transistorv having-theemitter connected to the positive pole of the power source and the base connected to the negative pole vof the power source, a lamp connected to the positive, andthe'nega tive pole fof the power s`our x:e, said photo-transistor being in the path of the `light emitted by the saidlamp and means actuated by the current in said current vsensing Vmeans *forvr shielding said 'lamp from said photoetransistor 'for allowing Ya passage of current only when the impulse of the saidfphotoelectric cell enters the` said bridgeja relay having a coilhaving one end connected to the other j side of the rstcontact of the saidrsecond relayv and the other end Yconnected to the negative pole of thepower source, said snap relay having a rst Contact and a secondV Y t contact, and a blinking device operatively connected from said second contact of said snap relay to the other side of said second contact of the two contacts of the second relay, a low beam headlightcircuit and a high beam headlight circuit each connected to thenegative pole of the power source and comprising low beam andahigh beam filament respectively, said laments beingfconnected respectively to the said first and second contacty ofthe Isaid snap relay, a switch ,having one end connected tothe positive pole of the power source and having two switch- Ying contacts, the firstcontact being connected to the said i snap relay and the second to said low beam filament'.V

` 2. A device as claimed in 'claim 1 in which said 'photo transistor has a portion of the protective varnish on the side thereof facing the said lamp removed and wherein said `means actuated bythe current in said current sensing means comprises an ammeterprovided with a pointer having a disc shaped expansion on the end thereof, said .disc shaped expansion being between said lamp and said photo transistor to shut out thelight beam coming from the said lamp when said photoelectric cell is inoperative and permitting the passage ofthe light bearri from the said lamp tothe said photo transistor when the photoelectric cell transmits `an impulse.

3.r YA device as claimed in claim 1, in which said photodisc of plastic material forming the rear wall of the casing, a spring interposed between said disc and said sensitive material and urging said sensitive material against the said metallic ring, said spring forming the positive terminal of the photoelectric cell, a plurality of vanes located in front of the said central aperture and extending perpendicularly to said sensitive material, said vanes having a length which decreases from one side to the other of the casing, a further vane fastened to the longest one of the said plurality of vanes and positioned to intercept the passage of the light beams perpendicular to the said sensitive material and to permit the passage toward the sensitive material of an inclined light beam coming laterally of the photoelectric cell from an auto- 4. A device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a push button inserted in the electric circuit yand connected between said second relay coil and the negative pole of said power source for hand operating said snap relay independently of the operation of the photoelectric cell.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,550,610 Smith Apr. 24, 1951 2,612,817 Wilcox Oct. 7, 1952 2,624,825 Crowley Jan. 6, 1953 2,759,124 Willis Aug. 14, 1956 2,773,219 Aron Dec. 4, 1956 2,773,220 Aron Dec. 4, 1956 2,786,964 De Witt Mar. 26, 1957 OTHER REFERENCES motive vehicle passing the automotive vehicle whereon l0 Peneld: Radio and TeleViSiOn NEWS, PP- 55-57 the device is mounted.

August 1955. 

